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SDGs & SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FINANCE (SRF)
6. CONCLUDING REMARKS AND WAY FORWARD CHANNELLING FUNDS TO SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES From a lending perspective, we must review lending limits and ratios, such as the amount that can be lent to women entrepreneurs without collateral, or the fraction of a bank’s loan book that must be lent to the agricultural sector. While all actors are critical, ensuring that banks adhere to the rules set by the central bank will be crucial in bringing about widespread impact. Thus, not only should rules be reviewed, but the coming years will require greater monitoring of bank performance. Central banks should reward top performers and sanction those that fail to meet their responsibilities. To encouraging a more ambitious set of rules for banks, the central bank should endeavour to increase the amount and effectiveness of its own subsidized credit lines to reduce the costs for firms making positive contributions to the economy’s sustainability. Over time, the proportion of funds going to green enhancements should increase as current efforts are not sufficient to bring the economy in line with global environmental standards.
SUPPORTING INNOVATION TO ADDRESS MARKET FAILURES Particularly for poverty reduction, we must ensure that innovations, epitomized by the technologies used by Fintech and Regtech companies, are harnessed to address market challenges, such as those that compound financial exclusion. This often requires prudent regulation rather than substantial investment. In practice, this requires effort on the part of regulators to develop a detailed understanding of emerging technologies, so that they can be brought to market quickly under a risk-proportionate framework. Opportunities for fruitful public-private partnerships to achieve governmental objectives may be a way to enhance the scale and economic sustainability of government impact. An interesting area could be providing low-cost credit to companies working alongside public bodies to bring sustainable technologies to the market. Investments, such as the national payments switch, have helped bring about much needed modernization of the country’s financial infrastructure.
Spending to improve the interoperability and speed of financial transactions brings about widespread improvements but also requires considerable financial backing. The government should continue efforts particularly through prioritizing schemes to fully digitize government payments. Bangladesh is currently exploring the possibility of establishing a moveable collateral registry, as has been done in Afghanistan, which would help to enhance the institutions governing credit for the poorest in society.
IMPROVING CAPACITY AND COORDINATION ACROSS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES All government agencies should be aligned with national sustainability priorities and should act as a united front. Coordination across agencies reduces opportunities for regulatory arbitrage and ensures that decisions are implemented quickly and effectively. Disagreements between ministries about the best plan of action should be addressed with compromise to establish a coherent strategy, rather than disjointed efforts. Finally, we must be keenly aware of international best practices and learn from the successes and failures in comparable economies. Engagement in organizations like AFI is vital for keeping a finger on the pulse of global developments. This should help us to measure our relative successes and chart our future course.
